By Spy Uganda Correspondent
USA: With just a few days left to end his term of office, a race by Democrats to impeach President Donald is gathering momentum as some of his fellow Republicans begin to break ranks.
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The House of Representatives’ third most senior Republican, Liz Cheney, said she would vote to impeach Mr Trump over last week’s storming of Congress.
Earlier, the president took no responsibility for the riot, which resulted in five deaths.
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The House plans to vote on Wednesday to charge Mr Trump with inciting insurrection, with Democrats saying the president encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol building at a speech before the riot.
Mr Trump could become the first US president ever to be impeached twice. He became the third president to be impeached in December 2019 over charges of breaking the law by asking Ukraine to investigate Mr Biden in the election.
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, a Trump ally who has said he opposes impeachment, decided not to ask rank-and-file members of the party to vote against the measure.
According to reports, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said he was pleased Democrats wanted to impeach the president because he believed it would help rid the Republican party of Mr Trump.
On Tuesday evening, House Republican Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania introduced a resolution to censure Mr Trump, a congressional rebuke less severe than impeachment.
The measure accuses Mr Trump of “trying to unlawfully overturn” the results of November’s election and of having “imperilled a coequal branch of Government”.
But Mr Pence had already rejected the Democrats’ resolution, saying in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “Under our Constitution, the 25th Amendment is not a means of punishment or usurpation. Invoking the 25th Amendment in such a manner would set a terrible precedent.”
Mr Pence’s refusal to go along means that Democrats will proceed to an impeachment vote in the House. If Mr Trump is impeached, he would have a trial in the Senate to determine his guilt.
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A two-thirds majority of the upper chamber would be needed to convict Mr Trump, meaning at least 17 Republicans would have to vote for conviction. As many as 20 Senate Republicans were open to convict the president.
The Senate could also use an impeachment trial to hold a vote blocking Mr Trump, who has indicated he plans to campaign in 2024, from ever running for office again.
In his first public appearance since the riot, Mr Trump showed no contrition for remarks he made to supporters before the violence when he also repeated unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.
“What I said was totally appropriate,” Mr Trump said. “I want no violence.” Trump asserted.
“This impeachment is causing tremendous anger, and you’re doing it, and it’s really a terrible thing that they’re doing, the “real problem” was rhetoric used by Democrats during Black Lives Matter protests and violence last year. Trump added.
